Nexstar is amazing in slow flight compared to the avistar, i had an avistar (crashed cause i forgot to check my transmitter bats) and just flew my dads nexstar yesturday. Easiest landings ive ever done. had a blast.

~Matt

I am one of the instructors in our club. Most of the trainers I have flown is the Avistar, Tower 60 trainer, Supper Star and even a duraplane. We recommend the Avistar to beginners in our club because it is a very nice aircraft and you can use it for basic aerobatics.
One of our students got a nexstar I started training him on it about two months ago. This is the worst plain I ever flew. If he ever gets a second plane he will half to get help because it will fly anything like the nextar.
It is even worst than a duraplane. But it looks good.

Get help from an instructor!

NexSTAR NOOOOO!!! It's a pile!... Go and buy a 6 CH. radio that way when you want to go on to a new plane, maybe with retracts or even flaps or even 5 servos (nexstars reciever only holds 4 servos). I am kicking my own *** because some dink at the hobby store told me the Nexstar was the best deal. I wish i would have spent the same amount of money on a 6 ch radio, good engine, and a plane that i can grow into. The best thing on the nexstar is the engine, i love mine. The radio is like the most basic radio out there. The plane doesn't do aerobatics at all. (I had a nexstar and crashed it, taught myself how to fly, had one unlucky mishap and panicked) I now have an avistar and i LOVE it. It flies really well, aerobatics are good,lands slow etc.

I have taught 5 people to fly on the nexstar. ( I have my own flying school here in the Orlando area. ) I have switched the engine to a evolution .46 and I have seen one crash by being hit, and two other fly well with all the add ons on the wings.. remmber to adjust the trim on the elevator when you fly with brakes on. The main one that I fly has 102 flights on it.

Well... I have to add MY .02 here... I'm a beginner (again) who flew a tiny bit YEARS ago. I purchased the Nexstar because of the brakes, tip-stall devices (which I think are AWESOME), and the flight simulator.

I couldn't be happier, and EVERYONE who has seen it, and seen it fly, and see me take off and land it, has had nothing but compliments on it, and how nice it flys, and how good it looks, etc.

We cranked the AFS unit down to near nothing after a couple flights, but I'm going to experiment with it one day soon, just to see what it really can do for a beginner who makes a mistake.

Two instructors have said that it is possibly the easiest trainer they have ever flown and taught with. I was checked out and soloed in about one hour of flight time.

The OS .46fx engine is incredibly easy to start, and runs great. Has never stalled on me, and has started with ONE try every time INCLUDING the first time I tried to start it.

I HAVE built planes before, so I did some "fine tuning" of all the surfaces trim, etc BEFORE I brought it out, and we only had to do some VERY minor trim adjustments on the maiden flight.

My only complaint with it is the main landing gear, which I posted a message on how I made it sturdier, and that works much better now... (see the "landing gear on a nexstar" thread for pictures and description of what I did)

I have also found that because of the extra lift from the air brakes, you need to fly it with a bit of DOWN elevator trim... this causes you to have trouble taking off, because the nose gear has too much pressure on it while building up speed... the easy cure was to either hold a bit of up elevator on takeoff, or to just temporarily trim the elevator back to 'level' before taking off.

Oh... and the simulator... I practiced with it for about 20 hours during the winter months... crashed MANY times with it before getting good flying towards myself... it has been INCREDIBLY helpful. But I will say that takeoffs are MUCH different with a real plane... but the general flying practice with the simulator helps a BUNCH!

.02 from a Nexstar owner...

I October of this year Hanger 9 will release their 40 and 60 size trainer with a filght sym and buddy cord. The 40 size will sell for 289.99. Dennis

I'm a flight instructor & I have only ever experienced one "bad" Nexstar. I have also encounted "bad" versions of just about every other trainer out there. The Nexstar package is comprehensive & the plane has a very wide flight envelope -- from very tame & subdued, to quick & aerobatic, depending on the use, or non-use of the add-on devices and the C-of-G location. It is easy to fly slowly & easy to fly quickly, it is good looking, large & easily visible, not very sensitive to cross winds, has a great power plant etc, etc. The smooth shape, plus the flight sim & FXi engine are probably worth the extra $100 in themselves. I think that it is a good package.

I purchase the Nexstar on Aug 19, used the flight sim for a week and then joined a club and lined up an instructor. Unlike every other posting hI purchase the Nexstar on Aug 19, used the flight sim for a week and then joined a club and lined up an instructor. Unlike every other posting here, I have had numerous problems with my engine. The first week I changed all the fuel lines because of air bubble problems. That didn't correct the problem so I enlarged the opening for the fuel tank and completely encased the tank in foam. My instructor removed the limiter on the needle valve so that we could tune the engine more suitably. These adjustments helped, but my instructor has had at least 4 dead sticks in the last month for no apparent reason. I received my wings two weeks ago and have had 20 solo flights but I'm always afraid the engine is going to quit on me. Last night my worst fears came true. I took off made a 90 degree turn and then a second 90 degree turn gaining altitude. When the plane was right in front of me at about 50 foot altitude, the engine just quit. No sputtering, No revving up and down, Just plain quit dead. Needless to say this was my first solo dead stick landing and it was at the worst possible position. I turned as quickly as I could and got it on the ground smoothly, but ran out of runway and the plane hit the barb wire fence post at the end of the runway dead on. Broke the firewall and pushed the engine back into the fuel tank compartment. The plane itself has been a very good flyer. Low passes are flat and level, even at very slow speeds. Landings are smooth and effortless. I took the speed brakes off after the very first flight, and the anti spin wing tips after about 30 flights. I have never used the AFS because I have always had an instructor, and the AFS tends to fight you in every turn. All in all I've been happy with how quickly I was able to learn to fly with this model, but the engine problems have become so frustrating that I am seriously considering buying an O.S. AX. I am grounded now until I get the nose fix. ere, I have had numerous problems with my engine. The first week I changed all the fuel lines because of air bubble problems. That didn't correct the problem so I enlarged the opening for the fuel tank and completely encased the tank in foam. My instructor removed the limitor on the needle valve so that we could tune the engine more suitably. These adjustments helped, but my instructor has had at least 4 dead sticks in the last month for no apparent reason. I recieved my wings two weeks ago and have had 20 solo flights but I'm always afraid the engine is going to quit on me. Last night my worst fears came true. I took off made a 90 degree turn and then a second 90 degree turn gaining altitude. When the plane was right in front of me at about 50 foot altitude, the engine just quit. No sputtering, No revving up and down, Just plain quit dead. Needless to say this was my first solo dead stick landing and it was at the worst possible position. I turned as quickly as I could and got it on the ground smoothly, but ran out of runway and the plane hit the barb wire fence post at the end of the runway dead on. Broke the firewall and pushed the engine back into the fuel tank compartment. The plane itself has been a very good flyer. Low passes are flat and level, even at very slow speeds. Landings are smooth and effortless. I took the speed brakes off after the very first flight, and the anti spin wing tips after about 30 flights. I have never used the AFS because I have always had an instructor, and the AFS tends to fight you in every turn. All in all I've been happy with how quickly I was able to learn to fly with this model, but the engine problems have become so frustrating that I am seriously considering buying an O.S. AX. I am grounded now until I get the nose fix.

I would contact the company (Hobbico) about all of this... see what they say.

I have an OS FXi engine in mine, and another plane (my slowpoke) with an OS LA engine, and the FXi engine runs MUCH better (although after well over 100 flights in three months, I've only had ONE deadstick, this week, due to lack of fuel)...

I'm shocked you're having trouble with the FX engine.

Thanks

Everyone seems to think this is unusual for O.S. engines. I will contact Hobbico and see what they say. I'm sure my warranty is probably void now that it has been involved in a crash, but it won't hurt to let them know the ongoing problems I have had.

P.S. sorry about the double posting. Must have screwed up with the spell checker copy paste.

If you were instructed by a "qualified" instructor at your club, and it's within the 90-day period as specified in the documentation.... they might honor the warranty on the crash too, and replace it... you never know. It's definitely worth a try.

Actually it's not unusual for the OS FX series .40 & .46 (obviously including the FXi). It was the reason that I sold all of my FXs & replaced them with TT Pro engines. It seems that the majority of dead sticks at our field occur with OS .46 FX series engines (to be fair, the majority of engines there are also OS engines).

Hobbico doesn't warrant the engine -- OS does, so bugging Hobbico won't help -- contact OS Engine.

In the mean time:

-replace all of the fuel tubing (again) including the tubing inside the tank
-ensure that the engine is firmly mounted -- check that the firewall bolts & engine mounting screws are tight
-check thsat the backplate screws are tight
-check that the cyl head screws are tight
-check that the carb o-ring is not torn & that the carb is correctly seated on the crankcase (no air leaks)
-ensure that the prop is balanced
-ensure that the crankshaft is not bent
-ensure that the needle valve o-ring, or other bits of the needle valve assemby are not loose or leaking
-ensure that both the high & low speed needles are correctly set & that the engine transitions smoothly from idle to full power

If none of this works, try mounting the needle valve assembly on the firewall, instead of on the engine.

We have already done everything on your list except checking the carb o ring and checking for a bent crankshaft. Changed several glow plugs as well.

At this point I think I'm going to buy a new engine and try to send this one back to try to get some kind of credit. If not, I will chalk it up as a loss and move on.

If you are actually going to change engines, I strongly recommend the TT .46 Pro -- it equals the OS engines in power, runs like silk & lasts forever. I have 5 - .46's & 2 - .61s --- not a hickup from any of them.

Nexstar or not?

I'd say NOT. Too FRAGILE!! It looks great, flies well but IMO is too difficult to repair for a beginner. Because it looks like a real plane it is more complex and delicate in it's structure. One crash with it and for a beginner it will be very difficult to repair it compared to the level of difficulty with repairing most other trainers. I am in the process of rebuilding one now and although I love the looks of it I would NEVER recommend it to a beginner.

I believe a trainer should be sturdy and easy to repair. You WILL crash your first plane and have hard landings which may also damage the fuselage.

It is simply not really worth the money unless you never crash it or hard land it a lot !!

I must agree with the above. I own a NexSTAR and really like it as a trainer. I had a different 40 sized trainer and had some problems getting started, got out of it for a year or so due to work related travel then back into it last March when I saw the NexSTAR advertized. So, I read the info and broke down and bought one. It turned out to be a very nice trainer, although I never did use the AFS. After a while, though, I removed the "stock" radio and put in my Airtronics RD6000 Sport. It has all the bells and whistles that one would expect with a computer radio and has a four model memory. With the RD6000 installed I was now able to add such things as end point adjustments as well as dual rate. The dual rate is actually what got me solo'ed because during normal instructor/buddy box flights, the radio was set to low rate and I was having great soft easy to control flights but was having problems on landing. Switching the elevator to hi during the approach fixed that and my landings improved 100% followed almost immediately by a solo and now I am building my fourth plane.

I used the brakes and the wing tip spoilers until after I solo'ed when another recently solo'ed pilot with the NexSTAR started busting my chops about flying with "the training wheels" so I first took the brakes off, flew it a couple flights, had no problems, in fact, my landings got even better, then I took off the wing tip spoilers and continued flying. Next step was to get a more capable plane, so I bought the Tiger 60 ARF which, by the way, has turned out to be a just wonderful second (now my first cuz the NexSTAR is on the shelf where it has not moved for the past few months).

Dick Soucy.

Yeah, thats what I said too! then the wing decided to seperate in flight! I then bought the ARF version. It would not even fly straight.
I was so disappointed, I dropped out of the hobby for a while. Now I,m back in with the Kadet LT-40, and it is a much better plane.

I did the same thing and also got a O.S. 45AX. That thing screams as a trainer or will float when you need it to. It does inverted well too. I actually have been working to try to get it to hover, but I think I need the CG back much further. Anyway, it trained me well and I am now onto a SIG Mayhem with a Saito 125. Enjoy!

I just finished going through all this analysis and decided on buying the NextStar. Decided to join a club as suggested and was warmly welcomed and assigned a flight instructor the first night. After discussing my decision with several flight instructors at the club they recommended the following.
1) NextStar plane is fine, similar in quality to other ARF's.
2) The AFS is useless, it fights the student and ends up being detuned to being almost useless after the first solo.
3) A four channel radio is not desirable. To avoid duplication of equipment a student should purchase a six channel radio and add "flight packs" to additional planes as the fleet grows.
4) Although the simulator is useful for some folks they believed the average student would be fine without one. This is especially true for students such as myself who have been flying 3 channle park flyers for several months.

They recommended I buy the NextStar or LT-40 ARF. Not the complete NextStar system, just the plane.
Purchase a good 6 channel JR radio, computer controlled not critical but why not since they cost just a few bucks more.
Purchase a good BB 46 motor or find one used.

They believe the ARF gives the student more opportunity to put some build time in and understand the complete picture of how the plane works. This knowledge will also come in handy when replacing fuselages and wings as your training progresses and you have your first couple of mishaps.

I purchased the LT-40 ARF a JR 6 channel computer system and a OS 46. Came in at $15 more than the complete NexStar system. I'm putting the parts and pieces together right now. I guess the joining the club and listening to the instructor was the two basic tips I gleamed out of all these threads here for beginners like me.

jbarnes, welcome to the hobby! You have already made the best decision you could have made by joining & reading RCU!!!
The R/C beginner steps should read:
Join RCU
Join a local club
find instructor
buy plane
be addicted for life

IMO your making the right choice going with an ARF. You will certainly have a greater understanding of what makes your plane work & you'll have better equipment for buying more planes in the future.
I bought the Nexstar ARF & absolutely love it. I never did put any of the speed brakes & droops on but it was still a docile flyer.
As long as you have a good instructor it really doesn't matter which trainer you have.

Good luck!

What I suggest for you to do is talk with your club members and instructors and see what they say is a good trainer. If the majority of the club learned on a Nexstar and have experience with a Nexstar then go with the Nexstar. I got my Nexstar because the club training chairman recommended it to me and when I went to the field I always saw someone flying a Nexstar. Whatever you decide to do have fun and enjoy!This is a fun and addicting hobby!

I have both the NexStar, & the Tower Trainer. They are both perfectly good trainers. The covering on the NexStar is much better though. It's also easier to fly in my opinion, after practicing on the NexStar sim for a couple days I went out & soloed with it. Had a mishap with the AFS on the first flight, but I managed to her back to the field & down on the runway, turned off the AFS & went on to have a great day, many touch & goes, figure eights & complete stop landings in a fairly decsent crosswind. The OS .46 AX engine that comes with it runs like a Swiss watch. I don't have anything bad to say about the Nexstar other than the AFS can get you into trouble so I just don't use it. I definitely like it better than my Tower. Good luck.

i have a nexstar and it is great. if you really want it you could just buy the nexstar ARF for 100. Then a .46 thinder tiger pro for 80. then i would go with a 6exas for 180. i would also buy some neon green stripes to put onto the plane.this does not requier an iron or anyting and its only $2.

ur total-360, split that up into 2 carts use the $25 tower deal and its down to 310. if i could have done it over agian this would what i have done. the 6 exas will take u to ur next planes and that egnine will too. i hope this helps. if u have any questions u can email me at [email protected].

[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJDH3&P=ML]nexstar ARF[/link]
[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&W=000724025&I=LXKF97&P=K]thunder tiger pro[/link]
[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHYK7**&P=0]6 channel exas radio[/link]
[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHY04&P=K]neon covering[/link]

to elenasgrumpy-
nexstar engine is not a .46 ax, the .46 ax cost $114. the nexstar engine is a .46 fxi. a mcuh diferent engine (power wise)

stunner, You're right my mistake. Still a great running engine though. I think a monkey could tune mine!